


Csec - The Vakarian Files

by MdmeMuffet



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Canon-ish, Citadel, Family, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Mystery, Other, Shakarian - Freeform, Spin Off, csec
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-09
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-07 12:50:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8801473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MdmeMuffet/pseuds/MdmeMuffet
Summary: It's after the Reaper Invasion, after the super happy non-canon ending. Reapers are defeated, Shepard (Alex) survives and the galaxy starts rebuilding. Alex and Garrus get married, obviously, and with the help of science (ex-cerberus contacts anyone?) have a human baby daughter. She grows up and decides to join CSec.This is her story...





	1. Prologue

Garrus leaned against the railing on the balcony, looking up at the stars twinkling against the dark navy blue night sky. His thoughts drifted back to his adventures with Shepard; chasing after Saren, destroying the collector base and the final battle against the Reapers. He closed his eyes, placing himself back in the chaos of the battlefield, amidst the explosions and gun fire. It was that cursed explosion caused by the giant Reaper lurking in front of them, the one that sent him and the others hurling in the air. The one that wounded him bad enough that Alex with fear in her eyes, called the Normandy back to pick him up.

That damn explosion almost cost him everything, including her. 

Now he stood, four years later and watching the peaceful night sky as she slept. Or he was, before being interrupted by a tiny figure stumbling towards him. Lilith stood before him, rubbing her eyes with a tiny fist, her other hand clutching a plushie Hanner toy.

__

_“I want a baby.” Alex had said, abruptly one morning as the two of them sat together on the couch in her cabin on the Normandy._  
_“Yeah. I’ll get right on that.” He replied with a scoff, barely lifting his head from his novel._  
_“Garrus,” she stretched out her leg and kicked him with socked feet. “I’m serious.”_  
_“Look, I’m totally willing to keep trying.” He wiggled his mandibles. Alex rolled her eyes._  
_“But,” he continued. “I highly doubt it will work. A Turian-Human hybrid? Sounds like a really bad fan fiction.” He shuddered. Alex kicked him again._  
_“Garrus!!”_  


“You had a bad dream?” he asked. She nodded her tiny head and Garrus scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to her room.  
“There really isn’t anything for you to be afraid of, Lilly.” He assured her. “You’re probably the most protected kid on Earth. After all, Archangel is your father. Monsters have nothing on me.”  
Lilly giggled and shook her head, already quite familiar with her father’s hi-jinks. He placed her back in bed and did the run around for her benefit.  
“See? Nothing to worry about.” He concluded, tucking her in.  
“Story?” She asked. Garrus smirked.  
“Lilly, it’s late.” He looked down at her pouting, rolled his eyes and motioned for her to scoot over. He laid down next to her, curling up next to him as he cleared his throat and began.  
“Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom of Omega….”


	2. Missing

Lilith Vakarian sat at her terminal, mindlessly filling out her latest report, the one that was preventing her from doing any actual ‘police’ work because the chief was insistent and spent most her shift breathing down her neck.  
“Hey,” she called out to her partner. “How do you spell “the bosh’tet had a gun and that’s why he had several bruises to the left side of his face and he should be thankful I didn’t shoot him”?  
Vianca shrugged, flipping thru the latest edition of “Guns and Babes”, her feet folded on top of her desk. “I don’t know. How do you spell ‘Hurry the fuck up with that report so we can do something else other than sit on our asses all day’?”  
“Pfft. At least it’s quiet.” Lilith shrugged, taking a guess at it, failing horribly, then using another word all together.  
“Spirits, you’re going to jinx it now.” The Turian glared, tossing her magazine aside. She raised her arms behind her, stretching lazily. “Watch, there is going to be some extreme terriost attack or something. Ruin a perfectly good afternoon.”  
“You’re the one who wanted action.”  
“Yeah, but like, small action. Medium, at best.”  
But as the minutes ticked by, nothing happened. The office held its steady stream of normal hustle and bustle and Lilith was still working on her report, unfortunately now she had to contend with Vianca tossing tupo berries at her.  
“Almost done. I just have to cross my t’s and dot my i’s.” Lilith finally announced. She picked up a random berry and tossed it back. Vianca smirked as it missed.  
“If you filled out the report in Turian, you wouldn’t have had to do that at all and we could be done by now.”  
“You could have done this, you know.”  
“Reports are beneath me.”  
Lilith opened her mouth to retort when they were interrupted.  
“Excuse me? Officer?” A small, timid voice came from an older woman, who was clutching her hands nervously in front of her stomach. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I have been waiting for someone to talk to me for quite a while….”  
Lilith held up her hand.  
“Officer Vakarian. I’m sorry you had to wait so long, things can get a bit swamped over here.”  
The woman shot Vianca lounging in her chair a skeptical look but Lilith continued.  
“Please, take a seat. My partner and I will be happy to assist you.”  
The lady nodded gratefully, and slowly lowered herself in the guest chair.  
“My name is Mrs. Stafford and I was trying to fill out a missing person’s report.”  
Lilith nodded, pulling up the necessary program.  
“Alright, Mrs. Stafford. Who do you believe to be missing?”  
“My son, Orion. Orion Stafford. I haven’t seen him in almost two days.”  
“Does he live with you?”  
“Yes. He came here from [random earth colony] to work with Apex Industries. It was supposed to be a temporary situation, he insisted. He just got so busy at work, he never really had the time to look for his own…” she paused, unsure. “I didn’t mind it so much, truth be told. I liked having him home again.”  
Lilith smiled. “Yes, I understand, it’s good to be around your family.”  
Carefully, she continued with the mundane questions such as height, weight all while Mrs. Stafford shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Trying not to sound patronizing, she delved into his social life.  
“Could he be with friends? You mentioned him being swamped at work. Maybe he needed a break and got caught up in the moment. Forgot to call?”  
The woman shook her head. “No no. He’s free to come and go as he pleases, of course. He always lets me know he’s safe, though. Ever since the war….”  
Lilith nodded in understanding. It was almost 30 years since the Reaper invasion, but with so much destruction, there were some who were still rebuilding.  
“Has he exhibited any strange behavior before he went missing?” Vianca asked, delicately. When Peabody shook her head, she continued. “No mention of any disputes? Work related competition that may have escalated?”  
The two officers exchanged a quick look; not at all surprised when the old woman’s eyes grew wide and furiously shook her head, as if to diminish any imaginary fears she hadn’t considered.  
“Oh heavens, no. He hasn’t mentioned anything of that nature. No one would ever hurt Orion. He’s such a sweet boy.”  
Lilith reached out her arm, giving her a comforting pat on her shoulder. “Of course, we only need to cover any angles. Now, Mrs. Stafford, I hate to assume, but has he been at work?”  
“That’s the thing, I went there to ask. Computer says he’s checked in for his usual hours but no one has seen him either.”  
Lilith frowned. “Where did you say, he worked again?”  
“Apex Industries. They do medical research. My Orion has always been so smart. He’s always trying to find ways to save people.”  
Lilith smirked. “Yeah, I have a few of those types of people myself.”  
Mrs. Stafford beamed, no doubt reminiscing about her genius son as Lilith wrapped up with her questions.  
While the old lady was super eager and helpful, she really didn’t give them a whole lot to go on. Never-the-less, Lilith promised her that she would investigate it personally and sent her back home.  
“Let us know if anything changes, or you remember anything else. No matter how small you may think it is. We’ll keep you posted, Mrs. Stafford.”  
After she left, Vianca looked at her. “I know where that lab is. It’s new but not far from here.”  
“Yeah, in a minute, I got to finish this report.” Lilith sat down before ducking as a handful of tupo berries flew past her head. She let out a cackle and grabbed her coat. “Just kidding, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Mrs. Stafford was originally Mrs. Peabody. Names suck. Thank you, name generators.  
> And thank you, reader. For you know...reading. :)


	3. Rekindle

Lilith turned down Vianca’s invite to hang out after work at The Dark Star, the small club on the third level. Her Turian partner protested, calling her out on extreme lameness.  
“Usually I’m all for getting drunk on some weird Asari cocktail while getting my ass pinched by Krogans in heat.”  
“Ugh, that was one time.” Vianca complained, Lilith ignored it.  
“I have a small headache brewing.”  
Vianca narrowed her golden eyes.  
“It’s not you, it’s me? Oh, how about ‘I was thinking about you the whole time?’ Will that work?”  
“You are such a dork.”  
“It runs in the family.” Lilith beamed, waved goodbye and headed for a quieter affair at home.

The apartment was a gift from her parents, who preferred to spend most of their time on their beloved Normandy. Lilith objected, of course, it was way more extravagant than what a rookie needed. In a continuing effort to show the galaxy she could fend for herself, Lilith would have been perfectly fine in a smaller place. Her mother shook her head, insisting.

“I would rather gift it to you, than sell it to some stranger.” The old Commander said. Her green eyes drifting away momentarily to, no doubt, her old friend and mentor. She smiled sadly before shaking her head, diminishing the memories of David Anderson. 

Lilith had no choice but to accept after that. 

Now as she entered and routinely removed her boots first, she glanced around the large apartment she calls home. Over time, it was slightly renovated. The over-sized waterfall in the back was replaced with a simpler wall of shelves and storage closets. The bar in the study was removed as the need for more than one bar became apparent. The piano, which she played with amateur skill, stayed in its original spot and while the furniture was replaced with more a comfy, retro trend in mind, the layout remained. 

Lilith turned on the fireplace, warming up the room before heading up the stairs to wash out her shift. Once showered and dressed in more relaxed attire, she grabbed herself a cold slice of left over pizza and a beer for her meal. Plopping on the couch, she flicked mindlessly through the channels before settling in on the most mundane form of entertainment.

“Oh Blasto. You really are a big, stupid jelly fish.” She smirked, tilting her head to figure out how he could pull the trigger and hold his gun with one tentacle. The movie was halfway done when her door chimed, forcing herself to debate getting up or not, as she really wasn’t expecting anyone. Figuring it was Vianca stumbling back to her in a drunken stupor, she reluctantly went to the vid screen.

“Kalio!” she gasped in greeting as the door opened. Kalio Sidonis stood there, practically filling out the door frame with his presence, awkwardly shifting his duffel bag between hands. Lilith stretched out on her tippy toes to give him a hug, stealing the few unsure moments. It was years since she last seen him, and the terms on which they parted were complicated. 

“I didn’t know you were stationed on the Citadel?” she asked, breaking away from his hold and stepping aside to let him in.  
“I’m not.” He shrugged, tossing the bag casually next to her boots. He took a quick glance around, mandibles twitching in amusement at the untidiness factor before continuing. “Ship needed repairs and equipment and we were nearby.”

Lilith went back to her place on the couch, un-paused the movie as he made his way towards the open concept kitchen.  
“You got anything that won’t kill me?” he called out with his head in the fridge.  
“Air?” she teased, grinning at the sound of his scowl. “Should be some stuff Vianca left over last time she hung out here.”  
Kalio inspected the bottle carefully as Lilith rolled her eyes.  
“It’s fine, she was over here the other day.”  
“Ha. Is that Blasto? Classic Blasto.” He swung a leg over the back of the couch, sliding down next to her and shaking his head at the atrocity.  
“This is such a horrible movie.”  
“I know. It’s what makes it so great.” She grinned at the Indoctrinated Vorcha on screen hissing out his lines. They watched some more, quietly enjoying the others presence.

“So what’s going on in the world of Citadel Security.” He finally spoke, breaking the silence.  
“Just working on a missing person case.” Lilith shrugged, taking another swig.  
“Interesting.”  
“Not really. This is the citadel after all. Missing person’s cases are a dime a dozen.”  
She filled him on what she knew as he sat quietly, absorbing it all in.  
“So we get there, didn’t even get passed reception. Those upper-class research places are such a pain. Wouldn’t let us go up. No help there. No John Does at the main hospitals or clinics. So we went to a few of the more popular bars which also got us nothing.”  
“And that’s that?”  
“For now. Most of the time, people really don’t go missing. I don’t suspect any foul play, not yet. No enemies, no lovers, no friends. I mean, this guy was 100% committed to work.”  
“Someone is logging him in. Maybe a fellow co-worker who has his keycard and needs his station.” He offered.  
“Who knows? We’ll keep going down the usual checklist and then it’s out of our hands. Policy, you know?” Lilith shrugged.  
“Ha. Since when do you ever follow policy?”  
She waved him off. “What about you? Any interesting stories?”  
“Ha.” He guffawed. “I’m an engineer, Lilly. The only thing interesting that happens to me is I once found a family of rats in the wires. How the hell did a rat get in there? I don’t know.” he shrugged.  
“I thought Turian ships were the life of the party.” She winked.  
“Your father greatly exaggerates. The good stuff only happens on the Normandy, we’re just a cargo ship.”  
“You could always go back there, you know.”  
Kalio pondered, then shook his head. “I’m forever grateful that Alex and Garrus took me in. They didn’t have too, but they did. I just need to find my own path, you know? We can’t all be Spectres and vigilantes. Some of us must have the boring jobs. Besides, I’m not the one who has the whole pedigree going for them.”  
It was meant to be light-hearted jib, but Lilith frowned.  
“Your father was a good man, Kalio. He messed up, but he redeemed himself in the end.” She nudged him. They shared a look before she nestled up to him, he casually resting his arm on her shoulder and continued watching Blasto defeat the Reapers obviously made from cardboard.


	4. In The News

“Did you find anything?” Lilith asked, finishing the last of her coffee and sliding in to her terminal chair. Vianca looked up to acknowledged her, her mandibles twitching in frustration.  
“Nothing. Found absolutely nothing.”  
“We should check in again with Mrs. Stafford. Maybe she has something new for us.” Lilith suggested with a frown, slightly distracted by the commotion coming from the Chief’s office. “Meanwhile, how long has that been going on?”  
“I’m not sure. Salarian Ambassador Ranok came in earlier, with his ‘lovely’ entourage.” she made air quotes with her three fingers and then continued. “They left a bit before you decided to show up though. Not sure what’s up his ass now, but I’m going to assume it had something to do with the Ambassador’s visit.”  
Jason Patt, one of the latest CSec rookies hustled over to them, eyes widen with excitement. “Have you seen the latest news report?”  
“Uh, no?” Vianca glared at him with a zero reserve of patience. Jason didn’t appear to notice, he was directing his urgency to Lilith.  
“You’re going to want to watch this.” He flicked on the monitor above them and found the proper channel.  
Infamous reporter, Khalisah al-Jilani spoke earnestly into the camera bot, babbling about her usual conspiracy theories and outlandish accusations of the Council holding out on the interests of civilians. Her stomach dropped, however, when her name was mentioned.  
“Oh no….” she groaned. Jason turned up the volume.

“Rant about CSec officers such as Lilith Vakarian using unnecessary force for the simplest of crimes…”

“Oh no…”

“Acting as judge, jury and deployment of warped justice. Just two days ago, Officer Vakarian brutally attacked Salarian Ambassador Ranok young, teenage son for the simple offence of vandalism…”

“Oh no…” she repeated, burying her face in her hands.  
“He had a gun!” Vianca yelled at the tiny woman on the screen, slamming her fist on her desk. “Also, vandalism? They took the smallest charge…”

“Is this what we expect from our Security force? Is this the behavior we expect from the children of our Galaxy Hero’s? Lilith Vakarian, we are watching you. You and the rest of the brutes you call ‘Officers.’ This, my dear followers, needs to change.”

“Maybe I can sneak out? Pretend I was never here? You think he saw me?” Lilith pleaded, rubbing her temples. Jason frowned and shrugged.  
“VAKARIAN!” The chief bellowed from across the hall.  
“Crap.” She pouted. Vianca got up from her chair, Lilith motioned for her to stay.  
“Don’t. It’s my name they are focusing for this smear, I’m not dragging you in this.”  
“Oh thank goodness. I mean, I was going to back you up, but this is so much better.”  
“Thanks partner. Your loyalty is a dying art.”  
“You’ll be fine. The Chief loves you.”

The Chief did not, in fact, love Lilith.  
The minute she walked in on her first day, he immediately pegged her as her father. Another rookie riding on the Vakarian namesake who refused to listen to the rules and didn’t follow proper CSec protocol. She learned quickly that no matter how hard she tried, there was no way to win over the old Turian Chief. Her mother offered, repeatedly, to step in with Spectre authority but Lilith always refused. Being in the Great Commander Shepard’s shadow had its strong points, but it could also be used as a tool against her. If she had to make her own mark on the galaxy, she would have to do it on her own.  
Now she stood in front of the door, feeling extremely small and nervous, but faked some confidence. With a deep breath, she walked inside the office.  
Chief Chellick was standing there, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.  
“Sit.”  
“Sir, with all due respect the news – “  
“Sit!”  
She sighed and sat, hands folded on top of her lap.  
“Where is Officer Donidas?” He looked towards the door, expecting her to walk thru.  
“She’s busy working on a report, sir. I figured since it was my name the news – “  
“Hmm.” He snorted, unfolded his arms and took more of a military pose she knew all too well. “Do you realize the headache you are causing me, Vakarian? That news report is the least of our worries. I had Ambassador Ranok come in here and had to audacity to tell me how to do my job. Do you have any idea what it is like to have a scrawny Salarian politician come in and tell me how to do my job?”  
He baited her for a retort. She didn’t bite, so he continued.  
“They do not have the smallest incline on what goes on behind that yellow tape. The bullshit we must face while they sleep soundly in their polished buildings and manicured gardens. I read your report, Vakarian. I know that his precious little snow-flake wasn’t as innocent as he’s claiming to be.”  
Lilith relaxed with that small nugget of information.  
“However,” he boomed causing her to tense up again. He placed both hands on his desk, leaning intimately towards her. “You are on a very, very…what’s that human expression? Thin ice, Vakarian. You are on thin ice. I’m not sure what exactly these plebs are trying to accomplish here, but all eyes are on you now. I expect you to provide them with no new ammo and exhibit the fine and outstanding behavior we demand at Citadel Security. Is that clear?”  
She could feel her cheeks burn under his scrutiny, but raised her eyes to match his. “Yes, sir.”  
The two held their gaze before he finally sat down, waving her off without another word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. That Chellick. I know, not exactly canon but none of this is so why not? :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)  
> Be gentle with me, it's my first time posting anything like this. There are a few chapters that are a work in progress that will be added in the near future. May turn into a series, may not. Depends on where this takes me. Story is control now. Send help. And cookies.


End file.
